Welcome to zero. I am Akshatrati this week climate hope from a sinking island. I'm in sunny Barbados this week attending the Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum in the country's capital, Bridgetown. It's my first time here, but I've long waited to visit, not just for the beaches, though they are nice, but for a climate reporter like me. The bigger draw is the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. She's held the office since twenty eighteen, and in that time she's come to be known as a singular force in raising the voice of climate vulnerable countries and in helping find new solutions for them. She has set ambitious emissions targets for Barbados, laid out plans to conserve vast tracks of its oceans, and championed the use of clean power. But perhaps her most impressive achievement is that she's found inventive ways to change the conversation on climate finance. For example, last year, Barbados was able to replace expensive loans by cheap ones because Motley convinced lenders that it would be to their benefit. That's because the savings will be put toward making the country more resilient to climate change and thus improve the country's financial health in the long run. Barbados has also successfully negotiated clauses in its loan agreements that allow it to pause repayments if the country is hit with an extreme weather event. She's also looked for creative ways to fund climate adaptation. This week, her administration released its new budget. It will see a fund for resilience and regeneration that will be supported by a point two five percent salary contribution from all workers in Barbados. Take a listen to something that Raphaele Soul, a lawyer and business consultant, had to tell me about this fund.

Welcome to zero. I am Akshatrati this week climate hope from a sinking island. I'm in sunny Barbados this week attending the Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum in the country's capital, Bridgetown. It's my first time here, but I've long waited to visit, not just for the beaches, though they are nice, but for a climate reporter like me. The bigger draw is the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. She's held the office since twenty eighteen, and in that time she's come to be known as a singular force in raising the voice of climate vulnerable countries and in helping find new solutions for them. She has set ambitious emissions targets for Barbados, laid out plans to conserve vast tracks of its oceans, and championed the use of clean power. But perhaps her most impressive achievement is that she's found inventive ways to change the conversation on climate finance. For example, last year, Barbados was able to replace expensive loans by cheap ones because Motley convinced lenders that it would be to their benefit. That's because the savings will be put toward making the country more resilient to climate change and thus improve the country's financial health in the long run. Barbados has also successfully negotiated clauses in its loan agreements that allow it to pause repayments if the country is hit with an extreme weather event. She's also looked for creative ways to fund climate adaptation. This week, her administration released its new budget. It will see a fund for resilience and regeneration that will be supported by a point two five percent salary contribution from all workers in Barbados. Take a listen to something that Raphaele Soul, a lawyer and business consultant, had to tell me about this fund.

I see it as a way of us showing up our country's infrastructure, making sure that our systems have the necessary redundancies, so that of course in the cases of natural disasters, but generally speaking, as we're building our country from a development perspective, we're going to be able to have the safety net. We need to make sure that's done well.

I see it as a way of us showing up our country's infrastructure, making sure that our systems have the necessary redundancies, so that of course in the cases of natural disasters, but generally speaking, as we're building our country from a development perspective, we're going to be able to have the safety net. We need to make sure that's done well.

As you can hear here in Barbados, climate change isn't just a side issue. It's the issue, and Motley has used the learnings from her country to help other vulnerable countries to deploy these solutions. The Bridgetown Initiative, which she launched at COP twenty six in twenty twenty one, puts old and new financial tools to creative use. So when I had the opportunity to interview Prime Minister Motley on stage at the Forum this week, I jumped at the chance. In this episode of Zero, we are bringing you that conversation, as well as some parts of the speech she delivered at the Forum.

As you can hear here in Barbados, climate change isn't just a side issue. It's the issue, and Motley has used the learnings from her country to help other vulnerable countries to deploy these solutions. The Bridgetown Initiative, which she launched at COP twenty six in twenty twenty one, puts old and new financial tools to creative use. So when I had the opportunity to interview Prime Minister Motley on stage at the Forum this week, I jumped at the chance. In this episode of Zero, we are bringing you that conversation, as well as some parts of the speech she delivered at the Forum.

The beautiful thing about the game of cricket is that you learn early that you have to play on the pitch as it is not as you would like it, and Barbados has perhaps produced more global cricketers of excellence per capita than any other part of the world. I apologize to my brothers in Gernada and Trinidad and elsewhere, even in India. But in learning that, it learns that we play on the wicket as it is not as you would like it, and you don't spend time or energy crying over what could have been, but we deal with the world as it is. On the twelfth of March twenty twenty five, I therefore ask us to use this opportunity to make the partnerships to perfect the networks that will help us unlock the financing that is critical. I also ask us to recognize that as small states, or as developing states, mimicry does not get us very far. If we try to establish regulatory structures that are known to the North Atlantic world, whose systems of development and whose institutions are completely different, we find ourselves, as my own country has done regrettably in the last three and a half years, caught up in regulatory arbitrage that has done nothing other than to lock off and block off over half a billion dollars of investment in renewable energy that is waiting and exploding to be put into action. And I share this with you because I'm sure that if we can learn from each other and do not have to repeat the mistakes of each other, we will get much further ahead. The reality is that most of our markets are way too small to command the attention of even commercial providers, far less to be talking about the things that are necessary to distort competition or to avoid corruption. We lose is time, and what we lose is the benefit of curtailing and increase in temperature globally. What we lose is an inability to build the resilience that we need. Our own Energy Transition Investment Plan contemplates that Barbados will reach net zero by twenty thirty five. We are committed to that goal, but we equally recognize and we've had to go to Parliament twice to change legislation to start to streamline what would otherwise be complex processes that have already delayed US three and a half years. So long as we can satisfy ourselves of the public purpose and be aware of the public mischief, we then have to find new ways that are appropriate to size and institutional maturity to be able to help us advance the execution of these targets that we have set ourselves. And I believe that if we can create, as I said, the international platform that can de risk investments, that will allow for South south cooperation, that will allow for the creation of guarantees so that we can better access domestic savings, so that they too can be part and parcel of the community that benefits from the rewards that would otherwise be available only to establish capital, that we can create a win win who shared.

The beautiful thing about the game of cricket is that you learn early that you have to play on the pitch as it is not as you would like it, and Barbados has perhaps produced more global cricketers of excellence per capita than any other part of the world. I apologize to my brothers in Gernada and Trinidad and elsewhere, even in India. But in learning that, it learns that we play on the wicket as it is not as you would like it, and you don't spend time or energy crying over what could have been, but we deal with the world as it is. On the twelfth of March twenty twenty five, I therefore ask us to use this opportunity to make the partnerships to perfect the networks that will help us unlock the financing that is critical. I also ask us to recognize that as small states, or as developing states, mimicry does not get us very far. If we try to establish regulatory structures that are known to the North Atlantic world, whose systems of development and whose institutions are completely different, we find ourselves, as my own country has done regrettably in the last three and a half years, caught up in regulatory arbitrage that has done nothing other than to lock off and block off over half a billion dollars of investment in renewable energy that is waiting and exploding to be put into action. And I share this with you because I'm sure that if we can learn from each other and do not have to repeat the mistakes of each other, we will get much further ahead. The reality is that most of our markets are way too small to command the attention of even commercial providers, far less to be talking about the things that are necessary to distort competition or to avoid corruption. We lose is time, and what we lose is the benefit of curtailing and increase in temperature globally. What we lose is an inability to build the resilience that we need. Our own Energy Transition Investment Plan contemplates that Barbados will reach net zero by twenty thirty five. We are committed to that goal, but we equally recognize and we've had to go to Parliament twice to change legislation to start to streamline what would otherwise be complex processes that have already delayed US three and a half years. So long as we can satisfy ourselves of the public purpose and be aware of the public mischief, we then have to find new ways that are appropriate to size and institutional maturity to be able to help us advance the execution of these targets that we have set ourselves. And I believe that if we can create, as I said, the international platform that can de risk investments, that will allow for South south cooperation, that will allow for the creation of guarantees so that we can better access domestic savings, so that they too can be part and parcel of the community that benefits from the rewards that would otherwise be available only to establish capital, that we can create a win win who shared.

Partnerships after the break More from Barbados and by the way, if you've been enjoying this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It helps other listeners find the show. I'm minister, thank you for that speech, and thank you especially for making time during this week when the budget discussions are going on. I recognize how valuable this time is that you're spending on at the four. Let me start by the message you had in your speech about practical and feasible solutions. One of the things that the Bridgetown Initiative and many of the projects that you mentioned around dead spots, for final resilience, for ocean conservation, for having a resilience fund where employees pay into it here in Barbados, those are practical, feasible solutions now in the years of effort that you have put in to try and develop these solutions in this moment where we are seeing a backlash on climate policies all around the world, be that in rich countries like the US where Donald Trump has pulled the US out of the Barrass Agreement, be that in Europe that is committed to climate action but is now being forced to spend heavily on defense and thus shrinking the fiscal space it has for climate investments. What do you think are the lessons that you have learned from these solutions that developing countries should be taking on board right now?

Partnerships after the break More from Barbados and by the way, if you've been enjoying this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It helps other listeners find the show. I'm minister, thank you for that speech, and thank you especially for making time during this week when the budget discussions are going on. I recognize how valuable this time is that you're spending on at the four. Let me start by the message you had in your speech about practical and feasible solutions. One of the things that the Bridgetown Initiative and many of the projects that you mentioned around dead spots, for final resilience, for ocean conservation, for having a resilience fund where employees pay into it here in Barbados, those are practical, feasible solutions now in the years of effort that you have put in to try and develop these solutions in this moment where we are seeing a backlash on climate policies all around the world, be that in rich countries like the US where Donald Trump has pulled the US out of the Barrass Agreement, be that in Europe that is committed to climate action but is now being forced to spend heavily on defense and thus shrinking the fiscal space it has for climate investments. What do you think are the lessons that you have learned from these solutions that developing countries should be taking on board right now?

As I said, I think we have to start at home first. On Monday, the Minister in the Ministry Finance delivered the budget speech for our government, and in addition to employees and self employed persons contributing quarter one percent of their earnings to a resilience and regeneration fund, we have now asked employers to match the contributions of the employees and we've gone further, and I have been inspired by Germany quite frankly in so doing. Last week the new Chancellor of Germany made it absolutely clear that whatever it takes to keep his country stable he will undertake, and that he would be reviewing the fiscal rules, particularly with respect to military spending. Our Parliament has now before it a statement from the Minister in the Ministry of Finance that we will now commit to add every year, starting from this year, a quarter of one percent of GDP in a regeneration and resilience fund, and that we will amend our fiscal rules to be able to accommodate that commitment on an annual basis. Because climate is for us an existential crisis, and we start therefore with what we can do for ourselves. I've then adverted to what we can do regionally. We have in this region six billion US dollars in excess liquidity, excess domestic liquidity. On its own, it may be difficult to employ, but in partnership with guarantees, whether from the European Investment Bank or other entities, all of a sudden that can be leveraged to be able to secure far more funding than is currently available now, so that we can finance much of our own development. I am sure that the same obtains in Africa, the same obtains in the Pacific, the same obtains in Latin America. What we have now to explore is whether the cross border flows south south can also work, because the rail problems have come north south. In determining what are the risk and what is the lack of information that would otherwise preclude us from being able to have access to affordable interest rates for capital that is used or pooled, we need to create opportunities for each other, and I genuinely believe that that is entirely possible. I'm also not, however, distracted by the fact that the US, as is their right, has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. But at the level of the federal state, as we keep hearing in the US, there is a clear division between what they do and what is done at the level of states and what is done at the level of municipalities. And I think you will find that a number of municipalities and a number of states are still investing their money in green energy, in green bonds, and therefore there will continue to be a strong financial pool of funds available for good, credible investments. I make one last point on mitigation. It doesn't matter where mitigation takes place in the world, it just needs to take place. And we need, therefore to find a way of creating a global fund that can finance the most efficient and effective mitigation projects, because if we are not going to have the power of one or two countries behind what we are doing, then in my own country, there's an old saying, one one blow is kill old cow. One one blow is kill old cow. And what it simply means is that one by one, by one by one, we can effectively still achieve what we need to achieve if we were to take the cumulative domestic excess liquidity of the global South and start to determine how we can work with strategic partners, whether it is Europe, whether it is China, whether it is India, whether it is Brazil, regardless whether it is the Gulf States, we will then begin to recognize that we have access to a lot more than we are actually currently aware of.

As I said, I think we have to start at home first. On Monday, the Minister in the Ministry Finance delivered the budget speech for our government, and in addition to employees and self employed persons contributing quarter one percent of their earnings to a resilience and regeneration fund, we have now asked employers to match the contributions of the employees and we've gone further, and I have been inspired by Germany quite frankly in so doing. Last week the new Chancellor of Germany made it absolutely clear that whatever it takes to keep his country stable he will undertake, and that he would be reviewing the fiscal rules, particularly with respect to military spending. Our Parliament has now before it a statement from the Minister in the Ministry of Finance that we will now commit to add every year, starting from this year, a quarter of one percent of GDP in a regeneration and resilience fund, and that we will amend our fiscal rules to be able to accommodate that commitment on an annual basis. Because climate is for us an existential crisis, and we start therefore with what we can do for ourselves. I've then adverted to what we can do regionally. We have in this region six billion US dollars in excess liquidity, excess domestic liquidity. On its own, it may be difficult to employ, but in partnership with guarantees, whether from the European Investment Bank or other entities, all of a sudden that can be leveraged to be able to secure far more funding than is currently available now, so that we can finance much of our own development. I am sure that the same obtains in Africa, the same obtains in the Pacific, the same obtains in Latin America. What we have now to explore is whether the cross border flows south south can also work, because the rail problems have come north south. In determining what are the risk and what is the lack of information that would otherwise preclude us from being able to have access to affordable interest rates for capital that is used or pooled, we need to create opportunities for each other, and I genuinely believe that that is entirely possible. I'm also not, however, distracted by the fact that the US, as is their right, has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. But at the level of the federal state, as we keep hearing in the US, there is a clear division between what they do and what is done at the level of states and what is done at the level of municipalities. And I think you will find that a number of municipalities and a number of states are still investing their money in green energy, in green bonds, and therefore there will continue to be a strong financial pool of funds available for good, credible investments. I make one last point on mitigation. It doesn't matter where mitigation takes place in the world, it just needs to take place. And we need, therefore to find a way of creating a global fund that can finance the most efficient and effective mitigation projects, because if we are not going to have the power of one or two countries behind what we are doing, then in my own country, there's an old saying, one one blow is kill old cow. One one blow is kill old cow. And what it simply means is that one by one, by one by one, we can effectively still achieve what we need to achieve if we were to take the cumulative domestic excess liquidity of the global South and start to determine how we can work with strategic partners, whether it is Europe, whether it is China, whether it is India, whether it is Brazil, regardless whether it is the Gulf States, we will then begin to recognize that we have access to a lot more than we are actually currently aware of.

One thing that came up in other speeches as well as yours is the need for financing. And many of the examples that you have secured here in Barbados have relied on some amount of support from development banks. We talked about the importance of guarantees in enabling these solutions to happen. Now I hear from people who are in development banks there is a sense of fear that with the US, which is amongst the largest shareholders in development banks, that there will be pushback against anything that has labeled climate as we are seeing already in the legislation in America. So if development banks are supposed to play such a crucial role in guaranteeing access to finance for developing countries toward climate resilience, how do you go about getting that finance development banks don't play the role that they have played for Barbados.

One thing that came up in other speeches as well as yours is the need for financing. And many of the examples that you have secured here in Barbados have relied on some amount of support from development banks. We talked about the importance of guarantees in enabling these solutions to happen. Now I hear from people who are in development banks there is a sense of fear that with the US, which is amongst the largest shareholders in development banks, that there will be pushback against anything that has labeled climate as we are seeing already in the legislation in America. So if development banks are supposed to play such a crucial role in guaranteeing access to finance for developing countries toward climate resilience, how do you go about getting that finance development banks don't play the role that they have played for Barbados.

Well, the first thing is that they must stop letting fear be a paralyzing emotion, because if they do that, then they'll realize that they can use the capital that they have and they can work together with others in guarantees to leverage it to be able to unlock far more than it would otherwise unlock. At this point in time, I remain, as I said, optimistic, because I believe that we have not really scratched the surface between what we have. The problem is is that we're also trying to secure what we know we will need down the line. But sometimes you have to stop a start with what you have where you are, while building up the capacity to achieve what you need three five, seven, ten years from now. And that sense of ultimate pragmatism and the blinkered approach that does not cause you to spend your energy and emotion in fear but actually causes you to be able to and lot what you have is what I think is required in this moment. I also think that let us be real, the United States is driven not just by presidential directives. Or governor's directives or congressional directives is driven by commerce, and there are companies that are going to find that they will be outside of the opportunities with respect to the procurement that must take place for the green energy transition. Every single export import bank in the world has some kind of domestic interests by ensuring that their suppliers of products and services benefit from any concessional funding that is given. That's not going to change overnight in the US, so I am prepared to wait for the medium to long game and to recognize that those persons who are going to be left out of the equation will soon find a ward as to how to get back in on the issue of the green energy transition. And let us be also very clear, the United States has been an engine of scientific and engineering innovation and therefore I expect that those people will also not want to be left out of what is the most important scientific and engineering innovation that is necessary globally.

Well, the first thing is that they must stop letting fear be a paralyzing emotion, because if they do that, then they'll realize that they can use the capital that they have and they can work together with others in guarantees to leverage it to be able to unlock far more than it would otherwise unlock. At this point in time, I remain, as I said, optimistic, because I believe that we have not really scratched the surface between what we have. The problem is is that we're also trying to secure what we know we will need down the line. But sometimes you have to stop a start with what you have where you are, while building up the capacity to achieve what you need three five, seven, ten years from now. And that sense of ultimate pragmatism and the blinkered approach that does not cause you to spend your energy and emotion in fear but actually causes you to be able to and lot what you have is what I think is required in this moment. I also think that let us be real, the United States is driven not just by presidential directives. Or governor's directives or congressional directives is driven by commerce, and there are companies that are going to find that they will be outside of the opportunities with respect to the procurement that must take place for the green energy transition. Every single export import bank in the world has some kind of domestic interests by ensuring that their suppliers of products and services benefit from any concessional funding that is given. That's not going to change overnight in the US, so I am prepared to wait for the medium to long game and to recognize that those persons who are going to be left out of the equation will soon find a ward as to how to get back in on the issue of the green energy transition. And let us be also very clear, the United States has been an engine of scientific and engineering innovation and therefore I expect that those people will also not want to be left out of what is the most important scientific and engineering innovation that is necessary globally.

One more question around politics around the world, not just in the US, is that we have seen in election after election that there is issues beyond climate action that are the focus for people. So cost of living crisis, inflation, where people think they are paying too much or aren't getting a good deal from government. But as you've done with the Resilience and Regeneration Fund, where you have contributions coming from employees into the fund, how do you make that case? How can other developing countries make that case to their people that climate action is in their economic interest so that they can win elections and act on this problem.

One more question around politics around the world, not just in the US, is that we have seen in election after election that there is issues beyond climate action that are the focus for people. So cost of living crisis, inflation, where people think they are paying too much or aren't getting a good deal from government. But as you've done with the Resilience and Regeneration Fund, where you have contributions coming from employees into the fund, how do you make that case? How can other developing countries make that case to their people that climate action is in their economic interest so that they can win elections and act on this problem.

Human beings know that they can't only live for what is necessary today, but they're building towards the future. The reason we educate children is not that we expect them to get all the knowledge in one year. It's a process and it's no different in this respect. Similarly, we all know and there's the old adage that I use repeatedly with my people here, many hands make like work. And if we don't recognize that all of us have a role to play, then we are not being truthful nor faithful to our people. The reality continues every person, through their actions and through their contributions financially, however small, however large, have a role to play in confronting is really a crisis of humanity because the planet on which we live, the only livable planet that we know, is in fact at risk now. I don't even want to say luckily, but the truth is that the last five years have shown us enough climate disasters globally where ordinary people have either lost their lives or livelihoods that anyone who is thinking will realize that this is not just a coincidence or a quirk of nature, and that we are in a pathway that will in fact put all of us at risk. We used to say in the Caribbean all the time, Simon would tell you that we are the canaries in the mind. Regrettably, those who were watching on now know that this is not a joke or this is not a problem for SIDS somewhere elsewhere. The majority of the North Atlantic countries, and indeed the emerging market economies China, India, Brazil all have coastal communities and coastal cities that are going to be significantly put at risk. In Africa, when you fly over and you see the big brung swath of land that is inhospitable to development and farming, you then begin to better appreciate why there may be issues of insecurity permeating the continent if people can't guarantee to their citizens simple things like making a living, like being able to farm, like being able to access water, like being able to withstand the drought. So I am very very clear that in the same way we tell our children what is good for them and how to be able to prepare themselves, to grow up, how to manage risk. They learn not to touch fire from early, they learn how to cross a road, they learn how to do basic things. Why are we frightened for having these conversations with our population when in truth and in fact, it is their actions and their contributions that will help us scale up to make the difference.

Human beings know that they can't only live for what is necessary today, but they're building towards the future. The reason we educate children is not that we expect them to get all the knowledge in one year. It's a process and it's no different in this respect. Similarly, we all know and there's the old adage that I use repeatedly with my people here, many hands make like work. And if we don't recognize that all of us have a role to play, then we are not being truthful nor faithful to our people. The reality continues every person, through their actions and through their contributions financially, however small, however large, have a role to play in confronting is really a crisis of humanity because the planet on which we live, the only livable planet that we know, is in fact at risk now. I don't even want to say luckily, but the truth is that the last five years have shown us enough climate disasters globally where ordinary people have either lost their lives or livelihoods that anyone who is thinking will realize that this is not just a coincidence or a quirk of nature, and that we are in a pathway that will in fact put all of us at risk. We used to say in the Caribbean all the time, Simon would tell you that we are the canaries in the mind. Regrettably, those who were watching on now know that this is not a joke or this is not a problem for SIDS somewhere elsewhere. The majority of the North Atlantic countries, and indeed the emerging market economies China, India, Brazil all have coastal communities and coastal cities that are going to be significantly put at risk. In Africa, when you fly over and you see the big brung swath of land that is inhospitable to development and farming, you then begin to better appreciate why there may be issues of insecurity permeating the continent if people can't guarantee to their citizens simple things like making a living, like being able to farm, like being able to access water, like being able to withstand the drought. So I am very very clear that in the same way we tell our children what is good for them and how to be able to prepare themselves, to grow up, how to manage risk. They learn not to touch fire from early, they learn how to cross a road, they learn how to do basic things. Why are we frightened for having these conversations with our population when in truth and in fact, it is their actions and their contributions that will help us scale up to make the difference.

I want to ask you two small questions. One is that as you've heard people around the world wait to hear what you have to say. I've been to cop meetings and when there's a list of people who are going to speak, everybody rushes to hear Prime Minister Motley speak. The reason is twofold one. You bring moral leadership and you bring feasible solutions. We talked about the feasible solutions, but the moral leadership at this time matters more than ever. You've talked about how the Caribbean needs to be seen and heard when there are such loud voices around wars, around economic distress, around trade wars happening around the world. How do you keep the moral leadership a focus in this conversation.

I want to ask you two small questions. One is that as you've heard people around the world wait to hear what you have to say. I've been to cop meetings and when there's a list of people who are going to speak, everybody rushes to hear Prime Minister Motley speak. The reason is twofold one. You bring moral leadership and you bring feasible solutions. We talked about the feasible solutions, but the moral leadership at this time matters more than ever. You've talked about how the Caribbean needs to be seen and heard when there are such loud voices around wars, around economic distress, around trade wars happening around the world. How do you keep the moral leadership a focus in this conversation.

By remaining resolute and saying what you believe and what you stand for. Look, I just gave you the example of methane. The fact that others will find potentially an opportunity for cooperation in controlling methane by stopping the flaring of gas and by fixing gas pipes does not cause me to change my fundamental beliefs as to why I'm asking them to do it. So that we don't change who we are, but we find opportunities for collaboration and partnership where there exists, and then where there continues to be divide, we continue the conversation to see how best we can work together to bridge the divide.

By remaining resolute and saying what you believe and what you stand for. Look, I just gave you the example of methane. The fact that others will find potentially an opportunity for cooperation in controlling methane by stopping the flaring of gas and by fixing gas pipes does not cause me to change my fundamental beliefs as to why I'm asking them to do it. So that we don't change who we are, but we find opportunities for collaboration and partnership where there exists, and then where there continues to be divide, we continue the conversation to see how best we can work together to bridge the divide.

And the last question, You've been warning for many years that the world today looks a lot like a century ago. True, that it's imperial, that there was in nineteen eighteen pandemic that killed tens of millions, that it followed a great depression, then it followed a world war, and the horrors that came from the Nazi regen in the twenty first century. We've had a pandemic, We've had financial crisis. There are wars now in Africa, in the Middle East, in Europe. And to add to all that, we have climate change that we didn't have one hundred years ago. So one thing I know everybody here would like to hear, how do you make a case for hope today?

And the last question, You've been warning for many years that the world today looks a lot like a century ago. True, that it's imperial, that there was in nineteen eighteen pandemic that killed tens of millions, that it followed a great depression, then it followed a world war, and the horrors that came from the Nazi regen in the twenty first century. We've had a pandemic, We've had financial crisis. There are wars now in Africa, in the Middle East, in Europe. And to add to all that, we have climate change that we didn't have one hundred years ago. So one thing I know everybody here would like to hear, how do you make a case for hope today?

Hope is a human condition that's necessary for me to take my next step. And I don't think that we should ever believe that hope is impossible because our current reality is difficult. If that were the case, my brother President Bio would not be here today talking to me, because slavery would have insisted that we don't exist anywhere in this country. So I want to remind people that hope is a condition that we choose, and we choose it irrespective of whether our difficulties are great or small. If we remember that, then we will also remember that resilience is what buttresses and gives hope its best chance, which is why we are working in the way in which we are working. So I truly believe that you have to choose hope. And if people choose hope as was as it was chosen by generations before who face even greater personal turbulence, even if not planetary crisis. Then I think we shall make the journey.

Hope is a human condition that's necessary for me to take my next step. And I don't think that we should ever believe that hope is impossible because our current reality is difficult. If that were the case, my brother President Bio would not be here today talking to me, because slavery would have insisted that we don't exist anywhere in this country. So I want to remind people that hope is a condition that we choose, and we choose it irrespective of whether our difficulties are great or small. If we remember that, then we will also remember that resilience is what buttresses and gives hope its best chance, which is why we are working in the way in which we are working. So I truly believe that you have to choose hope. And if people choose hope as was as it was chosen by generations before who face even greater personal turbulence, even if not planetary crisis. Then I think we shall make the journey.

Thank you very much, thank you, thank you for listening to Zero and now for the sound of the week. Even the frogs and Barbados are nice. They don't croak but whistle. If you like this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Share this episode with a friend or with someone who loves beaches. You can get in touch at Zero pod at Bloomberg dot net. Zero's producer is Miight Lira. Bloomberg's Head of podcast is Sage Bauman, and head of Talk is Brendan newnam Our. Theme music is composed by Wonderly Special. Thanks to Kanika Chawla and Sherry Kennedy at Sustainable Energy for All, and to Shawan Wagner and Jessica beck I am Akshra Drati Back soon.

Thank you very much, thank you, thank you for listening to Zero and now for the sound of the week. Even the frogs and Barbados are nice. They don't croak but whistle. If you like this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Share this episode with a friend or with someone who loves beaches. You can get in touch at Zero pod at Bloomberg dot net. Zero's producer is Miight Lira. Bloomberg's Head of podcast is Sage Bauman, and head of Talk is Brendan newnam Our. Theme music is composed by Wonderly Special. Thanks to Kanika Chawla and Sherry Kennedy at Sustainable Energy for All, and to Shawan Wagner and Jessica beck I am Akshra Drati Back soon.